Don't Try This At Home
by The Small Hobbit
Summary: The events following a blag at a jeweller's shop. Sam/Gene


Gene took the call just after ten o'clock. Blag at the jeweller's in Mason Street, two armed men seen leaving in a fast black car. He grabbed the Cortina keys and practically flew out of CID, shouting to Annie to: 'Tell Tyler to meet me at the front of the station'.

Reaching his vehicle he leapt in and drove round the building, barely stopping long enough for Sam to get in before he sped off. They drove through the streets as fast as Gene dared given the volume of traffic that morning. They'd been told that a car, similar to the one they were after, had been seen heading into one of the older estates and Gene wanted to catch the blaggers before they disappeared into the maze of small streets.

Despite Gene's best attempts, by the time they reached the estate the car had been abandoned and the blaggers had scarpered. There was nothing for it, but to leave the car and start searching the narrow streets on foot.

Cursing under his breath Gene got out of the car. In order to speed up the search they would each take one street, walk to the end, meet up and then move onto the next pair of streets. The first street showed nothing except the sight of an expensive looking television that seemed out of place in a shabby front room, which Gene made a mental note to follow up later.

They started to walk down the second pair of streets. Gene was being careful; for once he only wanted to locate the suspects, being only too aware of the danger in cornering an armed man. He knew his meticulous deputy was too fond of doing everything 'by the book' to do anything risky. He was beginning to wonder how much of the wretched estate they would have to walk through when a shot rang out.

###

Sam was searching for a file in the Collator's Den when he was accosted by a breathless Annie, who panted, "Blag, Mason Street – Guv, front of station."

He sprinted out of the building, leapt in the Cortina and hung on grimly as Gene sped off before he'd managed to shut the car door.

As they drove at breakneck speed, the radio had crackled into life: "DI Tyler, are you receiving me?"

"Go ahead, Phyllis"

"A black car, answering the description of the wanted vehicle has been seen approaching the Melville Estate."

'Great,' thought Sam, 'if they get there before we can catch them we'll never find them in those streets.'

Gene had obviously had the same idea, as with that the Cortina had gone even faster.

Sam spotted the black car as soon as they entered the estate. "We'll have to wait for uniform to do a proper search through these streets," he told his boss.

The Guv however was of the opinion that they didn't have time to waste and that if they took a street each, meeting at the ends, they had a chance of picking up a lead before the men went to ground. The first street had drawn a black, although a blonde girl in a very short skirt had given Sam a knowing smile, which he had pointedly ignored.

He began walking down the second street when a sudden movement caught his eye. He was sure that he had seen someone down the side of the next house and he was equally sure that whoever it was hadn't wanted to be seen. The rules said that he should find Gene and tell him and that they call for further backup. But if he did that then there was a good possibility that the man would be gone before backup arrived. Deciding just for once to ignore the rules, Sam started to follow the man down the side of the house. Ten seconds later he was lying on the ground clutching his left shoulder.

###

No sooner had Gene heard the shot than he was running towards the next street. Although theoretically his DI didn't need to be involved Gene was convinced he was; somehow gunfire and Tyler seemed to go together and normally to Tyler's disadvantage. He reached the scene faster than his legs felt reasonable. Sam was lying by the side of one of the houses holding his shoulder, with blood trickling past his fingers.

"They went over the fence, Guv. If you're quick you'll see them."

"What, and get myself shot too?"

Gene was looking around trying to decide the best thing to do. The commotion had brought out a couple of the neighbours who were wanting to know what was going on in Mabel's garden when she and Bert had gone to Blackpool for the week. Gene shouted at them to phone an ambulance and when they hesitated he waved his fist, which was now bloody as he had had it pressed on Sam's shoulder. The women departed rapidly.

"Why didn't you wait for me, you prat?" Gene asked.

"I thought ..." Sam began.

"How many times have I got to tell you not to think? There are days when it seems the only way to get any sense into that thick head of yours is to beat it in."

Sam groaned.

"Okay, I'll wait till you get better again."

Sam managed a weak smile.

###

The ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and took DI Tyler to hospital where he was kept in overnight for observation, despite his strenuous objections that he didn't like hospitals and would be much happier at home. He was discharged the next day with his left arm in a sling and with strict instructions not to over exert himself.

So now Sam was sitting in his flat, reviewing the previous day's events. He decided that if he didn't take the pain killers he'd been prescribed he could better judge how quickly his arm was healing and therefore how soon he could get back on active service. The more he thought about it the more sure he was that he had acted correctly and the more convinced he was that Gene should have left him (it was only a slight wound and he hadn't really needed the entonox in the ambulance) and followed the men. Because Gene had so pig-headedly insisted on waiting for the ambulance they'd lost sight of them and now they were at liberty to make another raid. He really should go into work and write up his report, just as soon as the pain subsided a little.

Meanwhile Gene phoned the hospital to find out what time he should collect his DI, only to be told by the sister that they'd already discharged him. She quoted various medical terms at him, which he'd translated as 'we got rid of him because he was such a pain in the arse.' When he checked with the sister the accuracy of his translation she hadn't actually denied it. She also told Gene that Sam had assured her that there would be someone at home to look after him. Gene put the phone down and looked up at Annie, who was watching his expression.

"The moron's been let out, 'cos he said that he's got someone to take care of him."

"Do you want me to go round to his flat, Guv?" Annie offered.

"Thanks, luv. I'm sure you'd make a great nurse, but he'll ignore everything you tell him to do. He's been told to rest and the only way to ensure he does that is for me to sit on him, so he can't move." With that Gene picked up his coat and walked out.

Sam sat on his bed and looked at his shoulder. He had decided that it might hurt a bit less if he moved it around a bit. Unfortunately it hadn't had the desired effect and he was trying to use the sling to stem the bleeding where the stitches had burst. At the back of his mind he could hear knocking, but he ignored it – he could only deal with one thing at a time and at the moment it was taking all his concentration to bandage up his shoulder.

When Gene received no answer to his knock, he paused briefly to wonder if his inspector had done the sensible thing, taken some pain killers and gone to sleep. He decided that this in no way sounded like the DI he knew, so put his shoulder to the door and burst in. He was greeted with the sight of blood dripping onto Sam's fingers.

"Bloody hell, Tyler, twice in two days. And don't even begin to say 'I thought,'" Gene was practically carrying the younger man to the car. "And when the hospital have finished with you, you're coming home with me. The Missus will make up the spare bed for you again."


End file.
